Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

n/a

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a 1 1/2 story side or eave entry barn/shed. The main facade faces southwest and the ridge-line of the barn is parallel to this portion of Route 87, which runs approximately southwest-northeast. The main entry is a pass-through door towards the northern corner of the southwest eave-facade. The rest of the facade is blank. The northwest gable-facade has a pass-through door towards the west corner. In the gable attic is a six-pane window. The southeast gable-facade has horizontal window opening towards the south corner. There are two boarded over spaces in the attic gable, possibly originally hay doors. The structure has vertical flush-board painted white and cornice boards on the eave and gable-facades. The roof has asphalt shingles.

Historical significance:

The oldest barns still found in the state are called the “English Barn,” “side-entry barn,” “eave entry,” or a 30 x 40. They are simple buildings with rectangular plan, pitched gable roof, and a door or doors located on one or both of the eave sides of the building based on the grain warehouses of the English colonists’ homeland. The name “30 by 40” originates from its size (in feet), which was large enough for 1 family and could service about 100 acres. The multi-purpose use of the English barn is reflected by the building’s construction in three distinct bays - one for each use. The middle bay was used for threshing, which is separating the seed from the stalk in wheat and oat by beating the stalks with a flail. The flanking bays would be for animals and hay storage.

A shed is typically a simple, single-story structure in a back garden or on an allotment that is used for storage, hobbies, or as a workshop. Sheds vary considerably in the complexity of their construction and their size, from small open-sided tin-roofed structures to large wood-framed sheds with shingled roofs, windows, and electrical outlets. Sheds used on farms or in industry can be large structures.

Field Notes

The old Clarke residence (presently vacant). Very old original barn.

Use (Historic)

• agriculture

Use (Present)

• unknown

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Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

• Barn
• Stone Walls

Environment features

• Open Land
• Residential
• Rural
• Scattered Buildings
• Woodland

Relationship to surroundings

The barn/shed is behind and to the northeast of the house it is associated with. The ridge-lines of the house and barn/shed are parallel with one another. To the northeast of the barn/shed is open space. To the north of the barn/shed is a New England barn with its ridge-line perpendicular to the Route 87. To the north of the New England barn is a stone wall. Behind the site to the northeast is dense woodland. The total size of the site is 3.82 acres. The area is residential, open space and woodland.

M/P = 017//001

Building Typology

• English
• Other Shed

Materials

• Vertical Siding

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Structural System

• Wood Frame

Roof materials

• Asphalt Shingle

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Roof type

• Gable

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Approximate Dimensions

525 S.F.

Date Compiled

08/01/2010

Compiled By

Todd Levine, reviewed by the Connecticut Trust

Sources

Photographs and field notes by Janice Thibodeau.

Sexton, James, PhD; Survey Narrative of the Connecticut Barn, Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation, Hamden, CT, 2005, http://www.connecticutbarns.org/history.

Visser, Thomas D.,Field Guide to New England Barns and Farm Buildings, University Press of New England, 1997.

Map of Columbia, CT, retrieved on August 1, 2010 from website www.zillow.com.

Town of Columbia assessors office, 323 Route 87, Columbia, CT 06237.